Television and other video presentations (including, for example, computer screens) often contain content or material that is unsuitable for viewing by certain users. Conventional means for restricting user access to certain content include locks that prevent tuning to certain channels by unauthorized users. For example, many parents would like to prevent their young children from viewing programming that is oriented towards adults, particularly programming that includes violent or sexual content. Channel locks that prevent tuning to certain channels without a password, but once unlocked, manual intervention is required to prevent the viewing of a channel's content by persons for whom that content is unsuitable.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,031,228, which is hereby incorporated by reference, describes an image recognition system for identifying each of a plurality of patterns in an image, such as the individual faces of members of an audience. For example, predetermined individual members of a television viewing audience in a monitored area can be identified, in order to determine the viewing habits of each individual in a household.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,164,992, which is hereby incorporated by reference, describes an image recognition system for identifying members of an audience by resemblance to one of a reference set of face images of individuals.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,619,251, which is hereby incorporated by reference, describes a system for two-way CATV and remote control. One embodiment includes a parental-control unit which controls whether a specific program is decoded from a television signal that has a jamming signal.
Thus there is a need for automatic and easier ways to control access to television programming and computer-displayed information based on which users are present in the room having the television or display.